


The One Where They All Live Together

by ThisIsMeRightNow



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Everyone's kinda gay, Gen, No Despair, Not Canon Compliant, Spoilers, V3 ends the way V2 does, everyone but tsumugi is innocent kinda, let these kids be happy please, no one dies, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-03-11 12:10:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13523979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisIsMeRightNow/pseuds/ThisIsMeRightNow
Summary: this is self-fulfilling, and my self-fulfilling i mean all my kids are normal teenagers and they care about each other and even though they fight they're all buddies and no one diesthanks bye





	1. The One Where They All Wake Up

Hi there! I’m Saihara Shuichi, a high school student who recently graduated from a school where the curriculum was centered around murder and suspicion. 

Actually, maybe I should backtrack a little bit before I jump into the details of my current life. 

6 months ago, give or take a few days, 16 teenagers, myself included, woke from what felt like the world’s most vivid nightmare. I don’t exactly remember much of that day, but I do recall my eyes shooting open after what felt like years of restless sleep. I glanced around to find myself wearing baggy, loose-fitting clothing that definitely didn’t belong to me. Next, I looked to my arm, to see a strange lack of medical equipment for being in what could only be a hospital room. There wasn’t even an IV bag, leaving me wondering how long I had been asleep, and how long I had been alone. 

I slowly rose from the hospital bed, grasping the railing as I slowly regained feeling in my legs, and padded to the door on the opposite side of the room. Tugging at the handle, it suspiciously slid open with little resistance. Stepping outside, my bare feet were met with cold linoleum flooring in a long, sterile-looking hallway. I stopped, listening for the sound of anyone, anything alive in the building, only hearing back sobering silence. 

“Hello?” I called out softly, jumping a little at the sound of my own voice, hoarse and cracking. The door that was next to mine was still closed, as were the others lining the hallway. Counting 15, including mine, I gasped. Though the door closest to me took a little more force than mine, it gave way with relative ease. Sliding open silently, I scanned the empty room. It was a hospital room like mine, as I had suspected, yet this one had someone else in its bed. 

With a pensive expression, even in sleep, the girl slept soundly in serious quiet. She also seemed to be dressed in large attire like mine, from what I could tell. Stepping over to her bedside, I gently shook her shoulder, trying to wake her without making too much of a commotion. I still wasn’t sure if anyone but us was left here. 

“Kirumi,” I said in something like a stage whisper, “come on, we’ve got to get out of here.” After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, taking a second to focus on me, and sitting upright. “..Saihara?” She looked around, eyes widening as confusion seemed to sweep over her face. “Where are we? I thought....” she trailed off, her expression going dark as detailed memories seemed to flood back. “I died. What is this, what’s happening?” her face remained neutral but panic started to seep into her tone. 

“I’m not sure where we are, but I think we may be alone. Whoever kidnapped up must have left, or got caught, or something.” I said slowly, trying to keep our volume down. “But just in case, I don’t want to be here long enough to find out. Can you stand?” 

She carefully swung her long legs over the side and stood, teetering slightly and resting a hand on my shoulder for support. Something about knowing she was here, likely with the others as well, put me at ease. After she could walk steadily on her own, we walked out of her room. We seemed to be on the same page, and went about slowly but surely waking everyone else. Tenko, Himiko, Maki, Kaito, and Hoshi first. Soon after Angie joined us on her own, waking Gonta, Kibo, Korekiyo, and so on. 

With only a few doors left unopened, I traveled to the back of the hallway, sliding open a door that seemed a little older, or perhaps just more stubborn, than the others. In it laid a short boy with purple hair that I was almost excited to see. Almost. 

Though Oma had not exactly been a team player, he had, in subtle ways, been helpful. 

I walked over, and shook him lightly. “Hey, Kokichi. Come on.” 

His eyes, after a moment, shot open, and he flew forward, grasping at every part of his upper body; a panicked expression overtaking him as he grabbed at his face, his next, his shoulders and arms. His chest heaved, his small frame shaking violently. 

“Woah there, Kokichi, it’s ok, everything’s ok!” I said quickly, lying a little to myself. He panted, sitting upright now, arms wrapped around himself. It took him several counts before he registered the room he was in, and a few more before he looked up at me, still breathing heavy.

“Shu…” his eyes, still wide, searched the bare room. “What...what happened?” he said softly, a tone I would’ve never expected from him. His arms dropped to his sides, twitching for a moment, as if he wanted to move but stopped himself. 

“I…” I started to answer, only to face myself; I didn’t know. What had happened? Was this all some kind of coma dream? It seemed to surreal, all too vivid for that to be the simple answer. “I don’t know, but everyone else is waking up, and I don’t want to stay around too long. Can you stand up ok?” 

Oma stood up hurriedly, nearly crumpling in the process. I reached out to steady him, but he quickly held out a hand, softly pushing my arm away and shaking the feeling back into his legs. 

“I appreciate the sentiment, darling Shuichi, but just because I’m cute,” he purred, winking theatrically, “doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself!” he giggled, leading the way out his door. 

Once out in the hallway once more, conversations brewed into each other, creating a mess of sounds without meaning that I couldn’t tolerate for very long. 

Walking through the end of the hallway, I saw that all the doors were now opened, but not all were empty. 

Peering through the opening of one of the rooms, I heard the mutter of 2 distinct voices. My eyes searched for a second before falling on a man with green hair, his voice low and soft. After a moment, his eyes met mine, and he smiled. “Hey there, Shuichi.” 

Being found out, I slid the door open, only to see a blur rush toward me, tackling me to the ground. 

“SHUICHI!" the voice cried out, full of anguish, and relief. I wished I had recognized it sooner. 

Involuntarily, I felt tears well up, like a dam full of water I had buried a long time ago, though it had only really been a few days. “Akamatsu!” 

Her arms wrapped around me as she buried her face in my chest. I felt her sobs vibrate through me as we lay there. After the initial shock of being thrown to the ground had faded, I sat up under her, adjusting myself to I could hug her without being suffocated. She shifted her arms around my neck, crying more quietly now into my collarbone. “I’m...I’m sorry,” she murmured between sniffles, “really sorry…” I wasn’t sure if she was apologizing for tackling me, or...everything else. I decided in that moment that we would revisit the latter at a later date, in part because of the boy watching on in awkward silence, trying not to stare. 

After a long moment, I stood, helping Kaede up in the process. She wiped her eyes and looked apologetically over at Rantaro, who waved her off with a polite smile. 

“Akamatsu, you’ve apologized more than enough for today. Everything you did, you did for the benefit of everyone else. It’s water under the bridge.” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Kaede cleared her throat and nodded a thank you before turning back to me. “Is everyone else awake?” 

I nodded, and the three of us headed out back into the sterile white light of the hallway, to see… 

15 of us. 

“Where’s Shirogane?” Kaede asked, drawing the attention of the boys and girls around us. Some looked at us strangely, as if we were just meeting all over again. Kirumi, however, broke the intimidating quiet that enveloped the hallway. 

“I suggest we split into small groups and search the building.” she stated matter-of-factly, asserting the plan with little argument. With that, we split into groups of three each, with Kaede, Rantaro, and I headed into what must’ve been the East Wing, according to a faded map on the wall. After a while of searching, however, we headed back to the central hallway, where it became obvious that everyone else had also come up empty-handed. Though some looked disgruntled, others seemed relatively unbothered by her absence. 

“That means she’s...gone, right?” Kaito asked. “Like, _gone_ gone?” 

That seemed to be the general consensus, and though part of us would miss the Tsumugi we knew and loved, we knew deep down that it was probably for the best that she wasn’t here. After a short while of idle chatter amongst ourselves, we decided we should find our way out of the building and get a general lay of the land, or at least the name of the town we were in. 

It turned out we were in a city called Isokawa, a small but relatively urban place that none of us were particularly familiar with, aside from Maki mentioning an “assignment” she’d had in the area at one point. 

Which, for all intents and purposes, brings me to this point in time. Kirumi suggested that, considering we had no money and our families all considered us dead, we find a place to stay together. Though the idea of finding a house for 15 teenagers to live in together seemed impossible, it actually didn’t take very long until we came across a house that was well big enough to house the number. It seemed far too expensive to be even worth considering, but Kibo took some time to figure out the numbers if we got jobs. He concluded that even if the jobs were minimum wage, the overall income would be enough to cover projected bills and other fees. 

In ways, we’re essentially a syndicate, a bunch of kids living together. Most of the girls got waitressing jobs or something of the like, with the exception of Maki, who was sometimes gone on “missions” that pulled in much more than any restaurant job, and Kirumi, who was more than content to stay back and tend to errands and keeping the house in proper order. That alone was more than enough to cover most of the expenses, but Kibo insisted on performing odds and ends around the city for anyone that really needed errands done. Though they were mostly elderly ladies, he was careful to be polite and efficient. Gonta got a job at the local pet shop, quickly becoming known as the insect expert, to which he was ecstatic.

At any rate, my name is Shuichi Saihara, and sometimes I think these people are going to finally drive me to my actual breaking point, but I love most of them anyway.


	2. Chapter Two: The One Where Shuichi is Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi, you're not as helpless as you might think.

It was pretty late now, at least 12 it must have been, thought Shuichi Saihara, knowing full well it was 2:37 a.m and that he had been pacing around his room, glancing at the clock every few minutes for hours now.  


Finally, after a few moments of deliberation, he flopped down on his bed and stared at his ceiling for a while. He wondered if they, if he, would ever get over everything that had happened. Especially those who had been “killed”. Rantaro, Ouma, Ryoma, Gonta, Kaede…  


It made him mad. Why had these people, these kids, been forced into such a sick game?  


Then he remembered the whole story behind the game, and questioned how much of that was reality and how much was fiction.  


Regardless, if he never saw a teddy bear again, it would have been too soon.  


After a while, Shuichi drifted off to sleep briefly. Though he didn’t remember falling asleep, the first vision he was met with was one of Kaede Akamatsu being strangled to death, followed by all his friends being ripped away from their futures one after another. Seeing their fearful, pleading faces so vividly again stoked a fire inside Shuichi. That feeling of primal fear that he had tried so hard to bury deep inside him was now impossible to hold back.  


He didn’t remember where exactly his dream cut off, but he remembered that he sat bolt upright at about 4 a.m. He gasped for air, clutching his chest as his lungs seemed to burn. Once he came to grips with his surrounding, his grip on the sheets loosened, through the fire hardly relaxed. He forced himself to take deep breaths, relaxing. He shook his head and stepped out of bed.  


He gently cracked open the door to his room, and stepped out, closing the door behind him silently. He padded out to the living room, collapsing on a couch. Shuichi stared up at the ceiling.  


It had been a few weeks. A month or two, maybe, since they had woken up. Things were falling into place financially and the place was really feeling like a home. And yet…  


Shuichi still felt a knot of dread deep inside him. Given that, he could hardly begin to imagine what some of the others had gone through. What they were going through.  


“Shuichi?” a quiet voice called out from across the room. Saihara jumped where he sat, shifting to see who had spoken. There stood Rantaro Amami, looking concerned and thoughtful. “Do you mind if I sit?” he asked, walking over to the recliner opposite Shuichi, who shook his head.  


“Thanks. Penny for your thoughts?”  


Shuichi was quiet for a while. “Do you still think about-”  


“We all do. Gonta wakes up in tears.” he cut him off. “It’s going to be a long time before we’re all alright again.”  


Shuichi sighed. “It feels a little relieving to know I’m not the only one suffering. I feel...weak. Like I should be getting better. But I don’t. I feel stuck in place.”  


“Like you can’t make progress, can’t move forward.” Amami added, to which Shuichi glanced at him and nodded, before directing his gaze back up at the beige ceiling.  


“That’ll happen, buddy. You just have to be strong.”  


They were both silent for a moment, before Amami spoke up again, a little quieter this time. “You’re scared. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t strong.” he murmured, seeming lost in thought himself. “You’re strong because you can keep caring for others, even though you’re still scared, still hurting. That’s what makes a good person, I think; putting their feelings aside because they know they’ve gotta help their friends.”  


Shuichi listened to Amami ramble on, hearing him become more and more tired. He knew, thought, that he was right. Shuichi wanted to be strong so that he could help his friends be strong too.  


He nodded. “Thanks, Rantaro. It’s a shame I couldn’t get to know you better in the game.” he said, a whisper shared as the first shades of grey seeped into the starry night sky outside.  


Rantaro chuckled a little. “Well, we’ve got all the time we need now, man.” he replied. “All the time in the world.”  


After that, Shuichi didn’t hear anything from Amami. When he glanced over, he saw the other boy fast asleep, his green bangs hanging over his eyes.  


Shuichi smiled a little to himself. He could be strong. No matter how many sleepless nights he spent doubting himself, maybe he could be strong.  


Shuichi Saihara drifted off to sleep again, this time in a little more peace.  


When he woke up, the sunlight drifted through the curtains, a calm and happy shade of yellow.  


He glanced around. Some people were quietly preparing food; Kirumi was diligently preparing a group breakfast. Others, however, were more chatty. Tenko and Kaede were sitting at the kitchen island, talking about their nights and what they wanted to do today. In the peaceful chatter, Shuichi felt like he might have found home again. These were people like him, who were scared, like him. These were not only his roommates, they were his friends.  


Gonta padded out of his room, dressed fully in striped pajamas and looking downtrodden.  


Shuichi swung his legs over the edge of the sofa and rubbed his eyes before rising and walking over. “You alright there, Gonta?” he asked quietly.  


The monster of a boy looked down at him before tears began to brim in his eyes. “Gonta dreamed about--about friends dying--” he choked out. He tried to continue, but instead resigned to steepling his fingers together and looking at the floor sullenly.  


Shuichi stopped for a moment. What exactly was he supposed to say here? Was it possible to comfort someone like Gonta? Would it be best to just leave him alone?  


“Hey, it’ll be ok.” he said, trying to be assuring. “You’re fine--it was just a dream. See? Everyone’s ok.” he gestured to the others. Tenko gave a fraction of a smile, while Kaede beamed at him warmly. Kirumi nodded to him with a kind expression. Gonta smiled back a little, his eyes still watery.  


“Shuichi...not scared?” he asked meekly.  


“I’m scared, buddy. We’re all scared. But we don’t have to think about how scared we are all the time. We…” he paused. “We can be strong, like you, Gonta!”  


Gonta’s eyes widened. “Really?”  


Shuichi nodded. He started to speak, before Kirumi cut him off; “Gonta, what would you like for breakfast this morning?”  


Gonta began to mumble out a response, but as Kirumi kept conversation going as she cooked, his demeanor seemed to brighten, returning somewhat back to normal.  


Shuichi watched as his words were killed with excitement once more. He caught Kaede’s eye, and she smiled at him knowingly, as if she could know exactly what he was thinking.  


Behind them, Amami groaned awake. “What time is it..?” he looked to Kirumi, who was preoccupied with Gonta, who she was now talking with about the kinds of bugs he had seen outside yesterday evening.  


“It’s 10:30,” Shuichi replied, turning back to the other boy. “It’s still time for breakfast.”  


Amami grinned at him tiredly. “You sleep well, Shuichi?”  


It gave him pause. He tried to remember if he had dreamt when he fell back asleep last night. He only remembered flashes of his new home. Kirumi fussing quietly with people’s clothes, Ouma wreaking havoc--and then being forced to clean it up afterwards--and Kaede hugging him close. Against his better judgement, he smiled a little as he watched Amami get up to join them for breakfast.  


“Yeah, I think I did.”


End file.
